“Watch yourself, my love,” she murmured, turning her attention to Richmond once more. “I am afraid of what he might attempt.”
Richmond clutched his stick, slinging it over his shoulder. “Have no fear. I have had experience with the Tads of this world.”
Slanting him a frustrated glance at his careless attitude, Arissa turned away and prepared to rejoin her friends. He called to her softly.
“Are you to reward the winner of this match?”
She shook her head. “We haven’t enough ribbons for the entire team.”
His expression did not change, but his eyes roared with intensity. “I was not speaking of ribbons. And I most certainly was not speaking of the entire team.”
She blushed madly, as giddy excitement filled her. “In that case, I shall reward the winner. Whatever he desires.”
The corners of his mouth tugged. With a bold wink, he turned and strolled across the field to where his team was in the final throes of practice.
Arissa returned to Penelope and Emma. Regine, her hands full of food, had joined the group. Her mouth loaded with custard, she kept up a running conversation regarding Tad and his talents. Emma, her face red, listened silently as Arissa took position next to Penelope.
“Daniel’s already fallen twice,” Penelope lamented. “I wish he would not play.”
Arissa sighed, watching as the marshals separated the teams and sent them to opposite sides of the field. Her father’s team was represented by Richmond, her brother, Daniel, and nineother soldiers from Lambourn and Richmond’s personal corp. The opposing team was comprised of soldiers and knights from visiting households.
Lady Maxine and Carlton joined The Horde as the match was readied. William stood near the edges of the turf with several other nobles, including Ovid de Rydal, no doubt issuing gentlemanly wagers before the game began. Just as the marshals were leaving the field, Lady Maude and Lady Livia strolled up on Arissa’s group.
“Arissa, dear, do you think it wise to observe this sport?” her mother said gently.
Arissa turned to her mother, a plump woman who had once been exceedingly lovely. Once, when she had been Regine’s age, she had overheard her father telling Richmond that the only reason he had married Maude was because she had been so lovely to behold. The woman had the intellect equal to that of a door.
“Why not, Mother? I have watched before, numerous times.”
Lady Maude glanced to the field. “’Tis simply that you are to join the cloister next month, and watching a sport based upon such brutality might…. well, it might….”
Lady Livia finished her sentence, as was usual. Oft times, Maude had difficulty finishing a line of thought. “It might adversely affect you, my lady. Now that you have come of age, your emotions have matured and it might upset your delicate balance.”
Regine leaned against her sister’s ear. “It might make you lusty.”
Arissa choked on her next breath, coughing indelicately into her hand in a desperate attempt to keep from laughing. Unfortunately, she knew Regine was right; her mother thought that viewing a host of thinly-clad men might stir her innocent juices, feelings a virgin bound for the cloister should notexperience. But Arissa had spectated numerous Stick and Ball games and was surprised that her mother would wait until now to voice her concerns.
Arissa took a deep breath, swallowing the last of her cough. “I understand your concern, Mother, but I would have you understand mine. This will most likely be the last Stick and Ball game I ever witness, and I should like to enjoy it if I may. Does this displease you?”
Maude and Livia looked to one another. When Livia shrugged faintly, Maude returned her attention to her daughter.
“Nay, dear, it does not. But control yourself as a well-bred young lady should.”
Arissa smiled, kissing her mother on the cheek. Even if the woman was dull, she was loving and sweet. “Does this mean you will not allow me to play?”
Maude looked shocked for a brief moment; when the younger girls began to giggle, she realized Arissa was jesting and her stunned expression relaxed into a smile. “You naughty child, take your seat and I shall not hear another word from you.”
Snickering, Arissa perched herself on a collapsible stool. Her mother, convinced that Stick and Ball was a ruthless sport offensive to a refined woman’s taste, offered her farewell to the group and retreated to the castle with Lady Livia on her heels.
But the fact that Maude publicly condemned the unruly game did not prevent her from finding a convenient window by which to watch the bloody spectacle. She would rather die than admit her fondness for a game where loosely-clad men engaged in bone-jarring combat. Half-naked, sweaty males warmed her aging blood.
The game got off to a rapid start. A no-holds-barred melee, the sounds of sticks against leather and sticks against flesh filled the air. The two teams were blended together so tightly thatit was difficult to make out any particular individual until the crowd broke in chase of the loose ball.
As usual, Richmond was at the head of it, using his skill and strength to work the ball down the field towards the enemy’s goal-line. He and Daniel made an effective team, passing the ball between them and keeping their opponents confused. Arissa and Penelope watched, pride shining on their young faces, as their respective men displayed their power.
“Daniel loves this game,” Penelope sighed dreamily. “He’s entirely skilled, don’t you think?”
“Just a moment ago you did not want him to play,” Arissa reminded her, her gaze riveted to the field.
